William B. Ogden

William Butler Ogden (15 June 1805-3 August 1877) was the first Mayor of Chicago, serving from 1837 to 1838 (preceding Bucker Stith Morris).

Biography
William Butler Ogden was born in Walton, New York in 1805, and he worked for his family real estate business before serving in the New York State Assembly in 1835. In 1837, he was elected Mayor of Chicago, serving one year in office as the city's first mayor. He went on to be a leading promoter and investor in the Illinois and Michigan Canal before becoming heavily involved with the building of railroads, and he lobbied for the building of the transcontinental railroad. In 1860, he switched from the Democratic to the Republican Party due to his opposition to slavery, but he left the party due to a dispute with President Abraham Lincoln over the timing of the Emancipation Proclamation. On 8 October 1871, he was devastated when most of his possessions were destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire and the burning of his lumber company in Peshtigo, Wisconsin that same day. He died in The Bronx in 1877 at the age of 72.